The Lady Of Their Dreams
by LucidSapphire
Summary: Sakura's entire future rests upon this choice she will make. Filled with unpredictable actions, burning desires and flaming passion. Her friendship and loyalty will be questioned. Who will be in favor? Or will she succumb to the turmoil and maelstrom she calls feelings?
1. Prologue

The ground beneath erupted as clumps of soil and dirt flew in all directions. Wiping sweat from her brow, she couldn't deny the satisfaction that punch granted her.

Trudging over to rest under the cool shade of the nearest tree, she reached for her backpack that she had left there earlier to reach for the lunch she'd packed earlier before she headed over to the training grounds to let off some steam.

She wasn't particularly angry about anything, but owning an infamous temper and personality much like her master's, she knew things weren't going to get pretty if she were to walk around with an itch to punch something.

As she was about to taking a bite of her rice ball, the sound of a twig snapping rang out from behind the trees. Instantly, she swiftly produced a kunai and grasped it in front of her chest without making the slightest of noise, unlike the clumsy oaf who was trying to sneak up on her. But the sound of a twig snapping was a little too cliché for her taste, and she wondered if it was one of her friends trying to play a prank on her by raising her guard and then tease her about her hilarious expressions when she was serious.

Another snap.

The crunching sound when shoes make contact with the ground.

Clenching her teeth, Sakura's grip tightened on her kunai. She was all the more ready to fling the kunai from the source of disturbance when an annoying voice resonated from above her.

'HELLO SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto shouted as his face appeared right in front of hers. The bits of rice that were in her mouth moments before were spat out from shock and surprise.

But then again, it was already a very normal thing for Sakura when Naruto intruded her daily activities. But instead of scaring her from behind or manifesting just an inch from her ear and screaming into it, he had his feet attached to a tree limb with chakra and was dangling upside down and staring into her emerald eyes with a mischievous grin plastered on his face.

However, his happiness of frightening her out of her wits did not last long as she delivered a slightly chakra enhanced slap on Naruto's left cheek. Even though she only allowed a very small amount of chakra into that blow, it was more than enough to send Naruto flying twenty feet away.

Congratulating herself on a job well done, Kakashi jumped out from the trees into the clearing with Sai not far behind, both rushing to Naruto's aid.

'What did you do this time?" Kakashi sighed while crouching over Naruto to check if the orange jumpsuit clad blonde beneath him suffered any fatal injuries.

"S…Sakura hit me… Hard… I was just kidding around with her…" Naruto cried silently.

"You should know better than doing that." Kakashi stood up, brushing the dirt away from his hands. "Anyways, we were coming over to invite you to Ichiraku Ramen. You in, Sakura?"

"In that case, sure I guess, I was getting hungry." Sakura gestured to her hastily put together lunch. In a way, she was glad they came to look for her. Sometimes she felt that she wasn't needed by anyone, or liked by anyone, especially with Sai's direct insults to her face. Yes, he was raised to suppress all his emotions and that he spoke without thinking or concerning about people's feelings, but it still hurt, even if she covered it up with her anger.

"Wow Sakura, you really growled. You're getting closer to becoming a dog." Sai remarked with what looked like a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"Do you want me to repeat that growl, accompanied by another chakra-laden punch straight to your face, Sai?" Sakura smiled sweetly to the boy standing next to her.

His response was blank as he moved back a couple of steps.

"Okay, shall we go?" Kakashi's voice interrupted their deadly conversation, much to Sai's relief.

The pink haired girl beneath him was surprisingly strong as

The four of them walked along the busy streets of Konoha in the direction of Ichiraku Ramen, with the occasional grumbling of Naruto's stomach and the giggles and snicker at Naruto's horrible attempts to crack jokes. Well, to be precise, Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto were the ones doing all the laughing while Sai regarded them with blank looks or puzzled looks.

"Poor boy, he's so clueless in everything. He doesn't even get jokes," Sakura thought to herself inwardly. Now that she thought of it, he was a lot like Sasuke. Not just Sai's looks, but the both of them lacked the ability to genuinely feel happiness, although Sasuke was a just little better than Sai at this feat. She made it a point never to get angry at Sai because of his lack of emotions.

She was snapped out of her trance by Naruto's shout of joy as they reached their destination.

" We're finally at Ichiraku Ramen! You don't know how much I've missed those bowls of ramen, Mister! A large salted pork ramen for me please!" Naruto grinned at Teuchi and Ayame.

After the four of them ordered, they settled down on the stools at their favorite restaurant to enjoy a bowl of much craved ramen.

Naruto was the first to break the silence between them. " Say, Sakura-chan, the kite festival's coming up tonight. We're all going, how about you?"

The kite festival was a festival that she loved as a child. She still did, but festivals and fiestas hadn't come to mind for a long time. Balancing her medical training, offense training and going on countless missions with Team Kakashi had left her very little time and energy to worry over special occasions like this.

Going to the kite festival would require her to wear a kimono, and she would need a lot of help putting it on. She would probably ask Ino-pig to help her, since Ino was the specialist when it came to fashion. Besides, she really needed a good night out with fireworks, good food and good company.

"Yeah, I guess I'll be going. I'll see you guys tonight!" she waved goodbye to her teammates as she left the money for her finished meal on the table to head home.

It was already 4 in the afternoon when she got home. Throwing her keys onto the dining table, she flopped herself on her couch, relishing in the comfort of her own little apartment. Her parents had been strongly against the idea of her living alone at first, and it took much reasoning and , but they finally agreed to let her move into her own place, provided that she live next to a friend that they approved of. She was glad that friend turned out to be Ino Yamanaka, even if she never showed it. Ino was still her best friend, aside from their love hate relationship. But Sakura figured that relationship leaned to the former side more than the latter.

Sakura didn't realize that she had been zoning out on her couch for 30 minutes. Snapping out of her reverie, she dashed into the bathroom in a flurry of towels and bubbles, and she was out of the shower in 5 minutes, feeling much rejuvenated. Now she just had to put on her kimono and makeup. But being a failure at both, she decided to call for Ino's help if she didn't want to show up to the festival looking like a clown in overflowing silk towels.

Ino took only a few seconds to bang on her door. Sakura smiled at the fact at how excited her best friend could be over these occasions where girls like them dress up to. She didn't blame Ino. Living their lives as female ninjas, there was very little time, close to none to worry over such trivial matters such as dressing up to a festival.

"Hey, Sakuraaaa!" Ino called while banging her fists on Sakura's door.

"Are you going to pay for my door?"

"Don't be a spoilsport."

"Don't spoil my door."

"Unless you want to wear your kimono without my help?"

"Get in here."

Towel still wrapped around her body, Sakura strode over to her wardrobe and pulled her only kimono out. It was one of the typical cherry blossom patterned ones, but her parents thought it suited her pink hair and name so it was a gift before she moved out herself. She sighed as she touched the flowers adorning the silk, she wasn't going to forget the moment when they attempted to suppress their tears while she tried it on.

Securing the obi behind Sakura, Ino placed her deft hands on Sakura's shoulders, congratulating herself on a fine job well done. She stepped back to admire her masterpiece.

Sakura's eyes were lined with black eyeliner, with a beautiful combination of soft hues of pink and white rimming her eyes. Ino applied minimal blush around her cheekbones and finished off with a nude colored lip gloss to plump out Sakura's thinner lips.

Rotating her body little by little to glimpse her body, she couldn't believe that the goddess-like girl standing in the mirror was actually herself. Grinning, she thanked Ino as she started to help tie Ino's blue obi around her best friend.

She knew Ino didn't need any help with her makeup, even though she knew she wouldn't be of much help even if Ino needed it.

By the time Ino was done applying her makeup, Sakura eyes had widened to the size of oranges, according to Ino.

Just like Sakura, Ino's eyes were lined black, but she opted for shades of blue and white rimming her already azure eyes, which made Ino look even more like a water goddess.

"Instead of forehead, would you like me to add orange eyes to your everlasting list of embarrassing nicknames?" Ino chuckled as Sakura stared at her.

"Shut it, pig. Don't eat too much at the festival. You'll just add more pounds to that bottomless pit you call your stomach." Sakura merely smiled innocently at Ino.

Chuckling, Ino hooked her arm around Sakura as the duo walked out of the house with a determination to enjoy their night.


	2. A Breached Limit

Aside from the crowd of ninjas and fellow medical ninjas Sakura worked with, there was a great deal of neighbors and civilians milling about taking sips of sake and sampling the vast array of snacks sold by the stalls.

"It seems as if the whole of Konoha's residents are present to enjoy the festival…" Ino breathed, staring at the scene before her.

"You're right for the first time." Sakura laughed, instantly getting into the contagious festive mood.

Walking among the villagers, Sakura took in her exquisite surroundings. Admiring the multicolored kites floating above her in the wind, attached to the ground with a string almost invisible to the eye, the streets of Konoha village looked even more beautiful with the cherry blossom blooming trees adorning it.

Ino decided to join her teammates for a chat after the duo bumped into Shikamaru and Chouji laughing away at Asuma's failed attempt to hug Kurenai which resulted in the latter playfully pinching Asuma's ear as he winced in pain.

Observing the way Shikamaru and Chouji's eyes widened when they caught sight of Ino emitted a giggle from Sakura as she waved goodbye to her best friend, taking to wandering the enchanting illuminated streets of her home.

It did not take long for the pink haired ninja to find her own teammates.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, her two favorite males and another not-so-favorited one were snacking on sticks of dango at the dango shop.

Striding over to them, Naruto grinned at her while Kakashi gave her a slight wave of his hand along with his signature eye crease. Sai simply ignored her.

Sakura gritted her teeth. Did he have to look so emotionless and hostile? Or was he trying to rile her up?

That thought was dismissed as quickly as it came to mind. She was undoubtedly an idiot if she even considered that Sai actually had even the smallest bit of concern over her feelings. Really, she didn't know why did his coldness even bother her.

Sai had been raised like this. He grew up lacking the knowledge of any form of emotion. It would be a wise decision to pretend he was invisible.

Choosing to ignore the blacked haired boy, she claimed the only seat available- one that was right next to Sai.

She didn't want to admit it, but he looked… decent in his yukata. Sakura had to fight the temptation to allow her gaze to linger a little longer on the boy seated next to her.

"You… You look very pretty…" Naruto stammered sheepishly with a piece of the confection sticking between his teeth.

"Naruto, ease up on the ogling and concentrate on wiping that slobber of yourself," Kakashi nudged the wide-eyed blonde.

"Or you could suffer another concussion if Ugly here decides to punch through you. "

That was the first time Sai spoke up ever since Sakura's arrival.

Sakura could feel her fists clench and temper flare.

Kakashi spared a sideways glance at the only female of the group, then to the pale skinned boy seated next to her and sighed.

"Sai…" the masked ninja began.

Kakashi never got to finish his sentence as Sakura stood abruptly.

"Hey guys, I'm afraid I interrupted you guys. Sorry, I'll leave you guys to your unfinished conversation."

On her face was a flawless cheerful façade, but Kakashi knew her mood was ruined and she was going to find some way of letting out the anger and frustration that she had bottled up in her small frame. He really hoped that she wouldn't decide to destroy a few buildings in the process. It would be a hard time explaining the destruction to the Hokage.

She gave both Naruto and Kakashi a quick hug before she hurried off, drawing very worried expressions from the blonde next to him and himself as the pink-haired girl walked away. There was no mistaking the tension in her posture.

After she was long out of earshot, the three of them sat in uneasy silence. The newcomer of Team 7 didn't seem to feel anything as he continued to chomp on his dango, watching his teammate and team leader stare at their sticks of dango, obvious that the comfortable mood before had been replaced by an awkward one after the encounter with Sakura.

This time, it was Naruto who decided to break the silence.

"Did you have to do that?"

Sai didn't respond until Naruto had to nudge his shoulder.

"What?"

"If you didn't already know, females have a tendency to loathe people who question their appearance. And you did not just question it, you insulted her, and even going to the lengths of using the taboo word to describe her exterior." Kakashi said matter-of-factly.

"I thought one was supposed to laugh at jokes."

That response earned a splutter of Naruto's green tea and an exasperated sigh from Kakashi.

"You… You actually meant that as a joke?" Naruto managed to get the words out of his mouth in between obviously exaggerated choking noises.

" Isn't laughter supposed to be present at joyous occasions such as festivals?"

Another sigh emanated from Kakashi.

"What?" The ANBU member next to him seemed very, very confused.

"Then I guess you had better go apologize to her and explain that you did not intend to insult her straight to her face."

"Oh, and tell her it was your horribly failed attempt at a joke!" Naruto had almost shouted while suppressing a guffaw, attracting glances from the nearby festival-attendees.

It didn't take long for the both of them to shove Sai off his chair to tell him to track down the monstrously strong girl he'd supposedly offended a few moments before to apologize and ease that temper of hers.

* * *

She felt defeated.

If only she had surrendered to that ever tempting urge to break those facial bones of Sai's, or pull out his tongue so he would remain silent for his whole life.

Jolting out of her stupor, she gave herself a mental shake and a slap for even considering such murderous thoughts. She was really losing control over this temper of hers. But still… What did she ever do to Sai for him to hate her so much?

Fine, it wasn't entirely his fault, growing up in a less than pleasant environment. But still, it was partially his fault.

She tolerated most of the times when Sai labeled her as ugly but insulting and ruining her mood on a festive night like tonight pushed her to her limit.

Snarling, she picked up a stray stone off the ground with a chakra enhances hand while she crushed it to measly grains of powder.

How she wished he would spout an insult to Tsunade about her age. She would buy some extra sticks of dango and savor the confection while she stood by the sidelines to witness her master beating the bastard to a pulp for his obvious lack of proper manners.

In the midst of yet another bloody scene where she fantasized about Sai's various agonizing experiences of going through torture, Sakura found her steps faltering in front of Naka Shrine, a few minutes away from the Naka River where the festivities were commencing.

Did she just walk up flights of stairs and passed through the woods while she was lost in thought?

She immediately purged the sadistic images from her mind.

There was no way she would entertain such barbaric mental pictures in a place of worship.

The deadly mood she was in before seemed to evaporate as her emerald eyes took in the beauty of her surroundings.

Tonight, Naka Shrine was decorated elaborately with all kinds of lights twisting up the wooden pillars in account of the festival that was taking place a few steps away, giving the whole place some kind of magical, fantasy-like ambience. It suddenly seemed like a scene from her cheesy romance novels when the male surprises his lover with beautiful lights and a wedding proposal or something of the sort.

Chirping sounds could be heard from the bushes and cherry blossom trees lining the shrine, accompanied by the laughter of the villagers as she proceeded to sit on the stone steps leading to the shrine.

The feeling of being alone wasn't a new one to her, and she enjoyed it in a way. She was free to think about anything, without having to worry on what type of tale she would spin if someone could see through her very obvious expressions and ask her what was the matter, or looking for various facades to plaster on her face.

Taking in a deep breath of the cool spring air, Sakura relaxed her shoulders as she decided to lose herself in her thoughts, putting in extra effort to distance herself from the sadistic images of tormenting a certain pale-skinned, insolent boy.

* * *

Really, emotions were troublesome.

One was supposed to laugh, giggle and snicker at jokes,no?

Not throw a tantrum and storm away.

Sai shook his head as he made his way through the trees, pausing at intervals to pull up his yukata. Maybe he should've walked. But it would take a long time to track Sakura's chakra signature since he was quite horrible in that field.

After minutes of hopping from tree limb to tree limb, he detected her chakra signature in the direction of the Naka Shrine.

Of all places, Sakura decided to choose a place where one had to climb steps. He considered heading back to where he was before since climbing flights of stone steps with a yukata and his pair of geta did not appeal to him. But then a certain blonde in an orange jumpsuit would surely annoy and tease him to no end by telling him how gutless and cowardly he was while Kakashi looked on with that bored expression of his.

Not to mention that the time journeyed through those trees with geta and getting dirt on his yukata would be a waste.

Maybe confronting Sakura wouldn't be such a bad idea. After all, he did come all this way. Getting her to hate him a little less would be advantageous to his mind and body.

She was the one he always went to when it regarded questions about emotions.

Since emotions were such a new and confusing thing for him, he needed someone like Sakura to answer his questions and doubts. He had considered asking Ino, but instead of answering him properly, she would try to talk him into grabbing dinner with her and compliment her on her looks while doing that weird action of blinking her eyes where her eyelashes followed.

Sai still wondered if it was an eye exercise or another gesture of emotion he had yet to learn about.

That was why he often resulted to Sakura when he had to confirm his doubts or needed help with particular issues concerning feelings.

The information that she provided him with seemed much more reliable and unbiased.

It would do him no good if Sakura were too angry to answer any of his questions. He liked answers and disliked being confused.

Not to mention he would suffer a lesser amount of injuries if she were satisfied enough with his apology that she wouldn't feel like castrating him every time they met.

Brushing the filth off his yukata, he started to climb up the steps, frowning every once in a while when he stepped on his inconvenient garment.

If Sai was one thing, it was efficient.


	3. An Unexpected Apology

Being alone allowed Sakura's thoughts to wander to very far places, even places she intended to stay at the back of her mind forever, encasing the pain and sorrow with it.

This time, her wandering mind found an unpleasant image to occupy her thoughts.

Knowing that it would be a vain attempt to try to suppress the current flow of images that were coursing through her brain, she had let herself to go wherever her mind wanted to take her to.

Sakura bit her lip in an attempt to ease the surge of anger, betrayal and regret as she recalled a memory. A memory that she knew would stay with her forever, no matter how deep she tried to bury it in the depths of her subconscious.

* * *

Immediately, an image of Sasuke leaving the village to join Orochimaru appeared in her mind.

Sakura was only twelve.

The boy she loved was leaving and she did not know how she would continue to survive without him in this village.

Sasuke was her everything.

The one person she dreamed of a future with, the one she would give her everything to.

Calling out to him, she told him she loved him, and that she would follow him wherever he went. That she would always stay by his side.

Only to be rewarded with a blow from him that rendered her unconscious to silence her.

She knew she wouldn't be forgetting how his eyes were filled to the brink with hatred and fury. How tragic that a genius like him was so desperate for revenge. If Sasuke had remained in the village, no doubt he would be an outstanding shinobi by now.

In a way, she had to thank the Uchiha. If not she would've stayed the useless person she once was, with no skills to back, only with an undying love to offer.

Sakura wouldn't be who she was today if Sasuke had actually allowed her to come along. Not that he would have anyways.

No superhuman strength, no medical experience at all. She would be stuck as the useless, weak and timid girl she once was.

The girl who always got in everyone else's way.

The girl who was a liability to everyone.

Aside from the improvement of her abilities, she imagined how ashamed her family, friends and everyone she had forged bonds with would be of her.

She would thank Sasuke for her emergence of her naivety and idiocy. If she ever had the chance to ever cross paths with the Uchiha.

Sakura stretched out her legs and let out a sigh when she heard the sound of geta on stone approaching her.

* * *

Fists clenched, she fought back the urge to scowl at a pale-skinned boy heading in her direction.

"Experiencing some emotional upheaval?" a voice rang out above her.

Sakura looked up to see Sai staring down at her with an impassive expression.

"What do you want?" Sakura bit out through gritted teeth.

"I don't want anything."

"Then why are you here?"

"Surely you don't consider Naka Shrine to be all yours, do you?" Sai smirked.

Sakura felt a vein twitch in her forehead. His tongue was sure at its sharpest tonight.

Sakura grunted.

"Sorry. Did that offend you?" the pale skinned boy smirked again.

It was crystal clear to her that she wouldn't be able to tolerate another minute in his presence. As she got made sure she wasn't stepping on her kimono, she rose up to leave when Sai blocked her path with an arm.

With the lights that surrounded them, a gleam of crimson reflected off Sai's eyes, which made him resemble Sasuke even more. Sakura tried to keep her features impassive.

"I'll leave. You came here first," He stared at her impassively.

With that, he walked away from her in the direction of the stairs without another word, leaving her to peer at his back.

Sakura waited a full minute before she exhaled a loud sigh. Somehow Sai was different tonight. Much different than what he normally was like.

The air of doubt suddenly shifted to one of suspicion. Sai wasn't usually like that. He insulted her directly to her face, never hesitating a moment. But tonight, he actually acted enough like a gentleman to leave since his presence annoyed her.

Something didn't feel right, but she had enough of the boy occupying her thoughts that brushed it away absently, trying hard to purge her mind of yet another wave of bloody mental images. Besides, Sai could be very unpredictable at times.

As she tried to brush away their brief encounter, it found a way back to her mind which made Sakura quite uncomfortable. The usually irritating black-haired brat spoke a little too smoothly just now.

Something struck her as she quickly gathered up her kimono and sped down the stairs. She needed to find Tsunade and Kakashi as quickly as possible.

Even if Sai was very, very unpredictable, he would never ask her if she was going through any emotional problems.

Never.

Because Sai would never be able to tell if a person was experiencing emotional upheaval. Sai did not have that type of knowledge regarding feelings yet.

* * *

Walking up the stairs in a long flowing yukata was so troublesome. Sai grunted as he almost tripped and fell backwards because he stepped on his yukata. Again.

It was then he heard a quick sequence of sounds headed in his direction. He was surprised to see the pink haired kunoichi speeding downwards, she almost barged into him with her concentration fixedly on pulling up her kimono.

"Sakura,"

His voice startled her as she let go of her kimono, ending up with her stepping on it. She fell forwards as she twisted her body to the side so her broad shoulders would absorb the impact when she felt a firm tug on her wrist.

Sai pulled her to her feet as she cast a wayward glance at her savior.

Sakura opened her mouth to thank him as she realized it was Sai who saved her from a possible concussion and a few broken bones.

"Thanks,"

"You're welcome," Sai remembered to say the phrase if someone ever expressed gratitude to him.

The both of them stood there rooted to the spot until Sakura suddenly alerted and made her way down the stairs again.

"Move it, Sai! We need to find Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade- sama!" Sakura called as he started to move down the stairs again. What a waste of energy.

Maybe he shouldn't have come after all.

"Why do you need to see them?" he picked up the pace to catch up to Sakura.

"I think there's an imposter in the village,"

"Who might that be?"

"I don't know at all. But…" Sakura trailed off.

Sai continued to stare at Sakura, waiting for a reply.

"Sai, don't stare at people. It unsettles them," she whispered.

"Oh." He casted his gaze to his front.

"The imposter transformed into you,"

By the way Sai's shoulders tensed, Sakura could tell that he had something against intruders who impersonated him.

"Let's find him as fast as possible please, Sakura,"

Sakura merely nodded in acknowledgement as they gathered more chakra to the soles of their feet, increasing their speed.

* * *

Sakura wasn't taken aback from the state of intoxication her master was in. Tsunade was waking all over Konoha in fits of laughter and babbles, leaving Shizune to trail behind her and nag at how this wasn't the appropriate behavior for a Hokage.

"Tsunade-sama! Please sober up a little, will you? How about a cup of green tea?" Shizune coaxed the now maudlin Hokage.

"Shizune," Tsunade held up her index finger to Shizune to beckon her over.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune held a careful expression as she advanced on the woman with extra caution.

"Come closer, will you? I've got something to show you,"

Shizune inched a little closer.

"I. Am. The. Hokage." The large chested woman in front of Sakura said to Shizune while staggering in her steps. "Andddddddd….." She trailed off as a moment of recognition struck Shizune for the latter to back away immediately.

Unfortunately it was too late.

A low, throaty growl emanated from within Tsunade as she threw up on Shizune.

The Hokage's assistant shrieked in horror as she hung her head in defeat, dragging the now giggling Tsunade away from the pool of putrid-smelling mess.

"Poor Shizune," Sakura thought. But the present situation wasn't something to joke about.

"Shizune, do you have a minute?" Sakura asked as the black haired woman tried to calm the hysterical Hokage down, to no avail.

She gestured to a nearby restaurant, turning to Sakura and Sai after succeeding in coaxing the drunk Hokage to sit.

Sensing it was the appropriate time to speak up, Sakura was the first to break the silence.

"Shizune-san, I think there's an intruder wandering the streets of Konoha impersonating as Sai."

Leaning against the tabletop, Shizune tapped her long fingernails on the wood. "Surely I don't think it poses a threat to the village. After all, everyone's running around drunk and there are quite a number of ninjas in this village. I wouldn't be surprised if one of your friends were pulling a prank on you guys."

"But… Shouldn't we be a little careful?" Sai asked.

Sakura nodded. " You know… Just in case."

Shizune moved closer to Sakura and placed a hand on her shoulder. " Don't worry, Sakura. Because of the festival tonight, we've placed enough chakra seals on Konoha's border to keep anyone out. Anything that possesses chakra won't be let in."

Sakura finally let up. Maybe it really was someone who tried to play a prank on her.

"I guess so. Should we go, Sai?"

The ANBU Root only nodded.

Waving a goodbye to her senior, she walked out into the busy streets of Konoha yet again, this time with an unsettlingly good looking boy.

* * *

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"Troubling you for a false alarm."

Sai paused for a moment and resulted to stare at her again.

"What?" Sakura felt a surge of uneasiness welling up within her and glared at him.

"I don't see any fake alarms around."

Heaving a defeated sigh at her teammate, she made it a mental note to only use direct references when talking to Sai, unless she wanted to suffer a mental breakdown.

Puzzlement donned his features as his brows furrowed. "But since you said sorry… It is quite alright." Then he proceeded to give Sakura one of his smiles.  
Sakura gave him a dry laugh. "I'm actually not sure if it's a genuine smile or not."

"It does not matter. A smile is the b-"

"A smile is the best way to get out of a situation, be it fake or genuine, right?" Sakura smirked. " You know what? I find it weird. You haven't insulted me the whole time you've been walking with me. "

"I am supposed to?"

"No. Forget I ever said that."

They walked in silence to the bridge, where the kite competition was starting.

"Sakura," She heard Sai call her by her name and not "Ugly" for once.

"Do you need something?"

"Actually, yes."

"Spill it."

Spill what? He wasn't carrying any liquid. What was he supposed to spill then? Did Sakura want a drink?

"Sakura?"

"Hmm?"

"Exactly… What am I supposed to spill?"

Sakura only responded with a long, hard stare and reminded herself once again to not utilize and indirect references.

He remembered he read something about prolonged periods of eye contact in his self-help books. Disbelief? Attraction? Interest? Raw energy pulsing through her veins so she could punch yet another hole in his stomach?

He shivered at the thought and took a few steps back from the still staring kunoichi.

Then he heard a snicker, followed by a fit of laughter.

* * *

That was exactly what Sai said.

Really, the boy was clueless when it came to matters like these. At least she had a chance to laugh at something, so the whole process of preparing for this festival wasn't a total waste.

Trying as best as she could to recover from the strain all this laughing was putting on her abdominal muscles, she breathed out slowly and took a look at the bewildered boy standing a distance away from her.

"Why're you standing so far away?" Sakura asked. "I don't emit any body odor, do I?"

Sai cautiously shuffled closer.

"Does that mean I have to smell you?"

At that moment, Sakura didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She just stared at him again. It was really impossible for a normal human being to be this oblivious and inexperienced when it came to conversing.

But this was Sai she was talking about.

As far as she knew, Sai wasn't anywhere near normal.

"Don't even think about it." She glowered.

"Anyways, I'm… I apologize. For just now." Sai's brows furrowed again, as if cogitating over some life and death dilemma. "For angering you."

"It's fine. You don't have to sound so strained."

"I meant it… As a joke." He got all the words out of his mouth.

This time, shock registered on Sakura's features." Sakura eye him with her wide green eyes. "You… meant that as a joke?"

"Is that something I shouldn't do?"

A shrill laugh escaped from her lips. "You're still hopeless, Sai. But not for long, I'll make sure that you'll be much capable at conversing with other people after I'm done tutoring you."

The way Sakura said it revealed the more confident side of her. It was interesting how her eyes seemed to sparkle when she talked about things that she seemed excited over.

"We should meet up with Naruto and Kakashi to watch the kites."

"You don't sound enthusiastic." The pink haired girl pouted next to him. "But… Alright, lead the way."

It wasn't difficult at all to find Kakashi and Naruto. Their hair made them stand out like how white contrasted in a background of pitch black. Not to mention that annoying voice of a certain blonde's.

"Well, well don't you guys look sweet!" Naruto gushed exaggeratedly, making kissy faces at the approaching duo.

"Shut up, Naruto." Sakura glared at him.

Naruto continued to make smooching sounds.

"Do you want me to talk about your little dick?" Sai gave Naruto one of his smiles, obviously angering the blonde.

"STOP TALKING ABOUT PENISES, YOU DISGUSTING PERVERT!"

It was when everyone around them stopped in their tracks to stare at Naruto only did he realize his mistake. "Look at what you did! Now everyone's laughing at me!" Naruto hissed at Sai, only to be returned with another innocent smile.

Sakura and Kakashi seemed to be trying to stifle their guffaws.

Deciding it was the right time to break apart the clowns, he placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "I think you guys should both shut up and let's enjoy the festival, instead of talking about penises, right, Sakura?"

That was Sakura's limit as she burst into a fit of laughter.

Casting a smile at the three of his "adorable" minions, he led them into the crowd of anticipating viewers to enjoy the last few moments of their supposedly happy night.

* * *

I'm sorry for the delay in updating this chapter! I wasn't entirely satisfied regarding how this chapter turned out, but I hope you'll enjoy it. Also, I'd appreciate it if I received some of your reviews!

Lastly, Happy New Year's Eve to everyone, warm wishes to your families and friends from me! May 2014 be filled with happiness and joy!


	4. Comfortable Silences

As the first streams of harsh sunlight glazed through the slits in her patterned curtains, she fought the urge to curse. Sakura hated being awoken. Especially when it wasn't even a living thing, like rays of sunlight. Being a light sleeper was so troublesome and infuriating she wanted to flip something, a table for example.

Trying in vain to block out the intrusion of her peaceful sleep by throwing multiple pillows at the crack in her curtains and screaming into her pillow in fits of annoyance and frustration, she finally decided to slide onto the floor and crawl to the bathroom, if she even managed that without breaking the door in anger.

She clambered lazily over to her door and swung it open with a little too much force, worrying her if the hinges were going to give way if she had exerted a little more force. The hinges on her door responded with a defined creak.

Nonetheless, she was satisfied that she did not destroy her door, but only shortened the life span of it a couple of years. She really didn't fancy the idea of trudging out of her apartment with her usual foul morning mood to get someone to fix it. Maybe what people said were true, that she was truly becoming a second Tsunade, which led to her pondering over how Shizune maintained her level-headed-ness and retained her composure at times of hysteria and frustration despite being Tsunade's apprentice for many years.

As much as she loved her master, she didn't want to turn into a complete copy of her. For one, Tsunade's temper would be rated as a 20 in terms of a scale from one to ten. Sakura was beginning to believe that she was a close 15. There was a time when the fifth Hokage was so frustrated regarding the endless flow of paperwork piling up on her desk, she threw her chair out of the window, which destroyed the "welcoming booth" near the village gates where Izumo and Kotetsu frequented, resulting in two shivering Chuunins and a panicking Shizune trying to calm them down.

Closing the bathroom door behind her, Sakura stretched out her stiff back muscles and a few images of the night before made their way into her mind.

There were images of her hooking her arms around Naruto and Sai, consisting of a goofy grin plastered on Naruto's whiskered face, another smile on Sai's face, but she still couldn't differentiate whether it was a genuine one or a fake one. But Sai appeared strangely light hearted last night, he didn't even push her arm away harshly when it was hooked into his, but let her arm remain where it was.

Combing through her rosette locks with her fingers while brushing her teeth, she found it a strange action that she even considered to maintain physical contact with the pale skinned boy she claimed she would hate for all eternity. Friendly and close physical contact such as hugging and light kisses on the forehead with Naruto was normal, considering the years they've been as teammates and the times the annoying blonde had cheered her up with his goofy faces and lame jokes. But just, not Sai.

It wasn't a bad thing, she guessed, maybe they were finally on the right track to becoming friends. Genuine friends. And maybe, just maybe, he would give her the respect he always seemed to have for Naruto. As for her self-questioning about her hooking her arm through his', it could be because it was one hell of an euphoric night filled with dizzying lights, exaggerated reactions of laughter and perhaps a slight overdose of alcohol, resulting in a very drunk Gai, who carried a protesting Kakashi to run a lap around the village. Their team leader eyes' appeared more lifeless than usual when his ordeal was completed.

Naruto and Sakura had felt bad for Kakashi and decided to walk him all the way home. Another gasp of laughter escaped her throat as she remembered how Kakashi was mumbling about turning Gai blue and burning his ugly body-clinging spandex green unitard. There were just so many times one has a chance to glimpse the other faces of their ex-sensei, and not the dead fish eyes and the disinterested mood he always had. It was a good change though, it made Kakashi seem less bizarre and more human.

Grateful that the sudden anger of being woken up dissipated as quickly as it appeared, she undressed and headed into the shower, instantly comforted by bubbles, warm water and fluffy steam all around her.

There was something nagging at her mind that gave her the impression that it would be a good day.

* * *

Since today was her day off from the hospital, she decided to head to village's Archive Library to read up on the past events of her home. It was top secret, only accessible by the Hokage's most trusted shinobi. Since she was Tsunade's apprentice, she had free access to the large collection of literary works. It would be nice spending a peaceful afternoon all by herself surrounded by books. Maybe she would consider a dip in the hot springs after her literary adventure.

Opening her closet, she was a little disappointed in what laid inside. A few pencil skirts for work, an ugly pair of shorts, and a few measly blouses and her usual ninja gear. She did not even buy any dresses since she moved into a place of her own. Running her hands through her hair again, Sakura sighed. Was she that oblivious everyday morning in her moods that her closet be turned into this saddening pile of cloth? After making a mental reminder to start buying a little more clothes to fill up her horrible excuse for a closet, she reached for a hair tie and gathered her hair up into a ponytail, heading for the door with keys in hand.

As she turned her back to lock her door behind her, she found a piece of paper stuck on it. It was a simple note scribbled in elegant handwriting. She knew only artists were able to turn defined strokes of ink into a simple piece of art. And she did happen to know an artist who was greatly talented in creating art. That person just was not an entirely nice person.

Sakura's brows furrowed as she freed the piece of paper from the tape on her door.

_Hey Ugly. Kakashi wants to meet at the Training Grounds at 12 along with Yamato and Naruto. Permission from Hokage granted. _

A defeated sigh escaped from her lips.

Sai really was hopeless.

This time, she didn't feel angry or upset. Instead, she felt a giggle emanating from within her.

Letting up and with a smile tugging at her lips, she went back into her apartment to change into training gear.

Well, book-scouting would have to wait.

* * *

Sai secured his sword in his holster properly as Naruto babbled on about taking everyone down while Kakashi and Yamato were looking on at him with bored expressions.

Sakura was late.

She even managed to be later than Kakashi this time round.

And she was never late.

Did something happen to her?  
Was she feeling offended that he wrote ugly again? If he remembered correctly, she hated the word. He didn't get what was wrong with the word. It was just that, a word. Sakura really needed some help in the anger management department.

There was one thing he was puzzled about. Last night she seemed a little too ecstatic than she normally was, or was it the result of the bottles of sake she had been pouring down her throat along with his teammates. If he remembered correctly, one of his self help books said something about drinking too much of alcohol, which was found in sake, one could be affected so much to the extent to lose control of one's faculties or behavior. What was it called… oh yes, the action of getting drunk or tipsy.

Not to mention that he did not push her away when she linked her arm around his' when the main festivities began commencing. He did not feel the need to. He felt strangely at ease, with some strange tickly sensation in the pit of his stomach. Maybe the horrendous mixture of food he was forced to take in by his fellow teammates caused some kind of reaction that unsettled his stomach.

Maybe Sakura really wasn't coming.

Then he wouldn't waste his time here waiting around. He had better things to do.

Painting for example.

He slung his backpack over his shoulder and rose up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi called from under a tree.

"I'm wasting my time here."

"You call waiting for Sakura-chan wasting time?!" Naruto called incredulously while dangling upside down from a tree.

"Yes."

"Oh, come on! You don't have to show that you're that unwilling to train with us… It's seldom that Kakashi-sensei would actually take the liberty of opening his mouth to tell us to train!"

Sai wasn't unwilling. He just thought that he had better things to do. " Unlike a penis-less person like you, I have better things to do, Naruto."

He could see the blonde stiffen.

Then a rush of wind flew to his left.

Noticing too late, he unsheathed his sword a moment too late as Naruto was already inches in from of him, a kunai stretched out in front of him with an furious expression on his face.

Sai thought he was going to get a cut from that blade of Naruto's. But as quickly as Naruto appeared in front of him with that killing intent of his, he felt himself being heaved up and he saw Naruto was being lifted up in the same way.

Next thing he knew, he both of them were suddenly flying towards the direction of a nearby tree, head first.

Sai twisted his body to the right and tried to make contact with the ground with his feet so he could jump onto a branch.

It was a pity that he miscalculated. Unfortunately, the speed he was flung at was too fast and his shoulder collided with the tree trunk with a resounding crack.

After sliding to the ground with a wince on his face, he put a hand to his shoulder and felt a wave of relief when it wasn't dislocated. Other than scraped skin and a damaged tree trunk, he was still intact.

Naruto, on the other hand, did not take the liberty of turning his body to one side or try any means of reducing the impact. He collided straight first into the tree trunk. Maybe he really was penis-less.

While he was trying to get up, he was surprised that he stood face first with a smirking Sakura. Since when did she come?

"Nice bruise, do you need me to heal that for you?"

"It's alright."

"Are you sure? If wincing means you're okay, I'll go heal Naruto over there.

"What was the point of flinging the both of us so violently?" Sai asked while rubbing his shoulder again.

"Naruto may be a little dumb, but he definitely isn't powerless, Sai. That attack could've been fatal. Don't tell me you did not notice his killing intent."

Sai grunted in response and walked away while Sakura walked past him to heal their blonde teammate.

How troublesome. He shouldn't have came out in the first place. He should've have ignored Kakashi's message and stayed at home to paint instead. He should've enjoyed a peaceful day at home without having to interact with people, which were starting to become tiring. Interacting with Sakura, to be precise.

She was so confusing.

She wanted to impale him on sticks at first when he cracked a joke. He was so used to using the word ugly that sometimes it just slipped out.

Then she was happy when he apologized.

Sakura even made physical contact with him other than punching him. And he had read in his books that physical contact meant someone was attracted or close to one, at least that meant he was preferable company.

But one does not fling preferable company towards a tree. Even if she had claimed it was for his safety. Why would she concern herself whether he was safe or not? Maybe it was her inner medic kicking in.

Letting out a sigh, he walked over to where Sakura was busy healing the bump on Naruto's forehead while Yamato and Kakashi looked on with concern. The blonde was complaining as usual as Sai picked up snippets of the conversation.

"DID YOU HAVE TO DO THAT, SAKURA-CHAN?!"

Sakura hummed absently and continued healing his forehead.

"DID YOU KNOW THAT HURT?!"

"Then you should've took precautions when it comes to controlling your temper and you should've tried to evade the tree trunk. Or minimize the damage, like how Sai did. Right, Sai?" Sakura called over her shoulder.

Surprised that she knew he was noticed from such a distance away, especially when he moved soundlessly. He managed a hum of agreement.

Naruto pouted when he walked closer. "Don't ever do that again, Sai. I've had enough with your jokes with penises."

He ignored the blonde.

"SAI!"

"Who said it was a joke?"

A growl was reached his ears, and this time it took both Kakashi and Sakura to pin him to the ground. Naruto was struggling with all his energy and Sai could see the anger in his eyes. How reckless. Naruto needed a lot of help if he wanted to be the Hokage.

"Kakashi-sensei, I think we should train another day." Sakura grunted while she held Naruto's legs. "I don't think Naruto would be able to refrain from killing Sai."

Yamato hummed in agreement while Kakashi sighed.

"Just when I was in the mood to move around and inflict damage on the three of you…"

Three pairs of judging eyes regarded him immediately.

"I'm joking, I'm joking," Kakashi drawled. "Till next time then." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"See you guys." Yamato smiled as he departed the same way.

After the two seniors took their leave, Sakura finally released a calm Naruto as he heaved a heavy breath.

"I'll head home now. Won't be a problem if I leave that dick and you together will it, Sakura-chan? I can't stand another moment with him."

Sakura laughed as she placed a hand on the hyperactive blonde's shoulder. "You know you don't mean that."

Naruto grunted. After shooting a last scowl in the direction of Sai, Naruto walked towards the gates of the training ground back home, leaving Sai and Sakura alone.

* * *

They sat in silence.

It was a very long silence as they stared straight ahead at the vast expanse of green grass and dense trees.

It did not feel like an awkward silence, the type where one would take any type of petty excuse to leave the scene.

As surprised as Sakura was to admit it to herself, the long silence between her supposedly archenemy turned out to be rather comfortable.

Finally reaching a conclusion that the no matter how comfortable silences got, this one was stretching a little too long for her taste.

"Sai, you shouldn't have done that."

"Hmm."

"Sai. I'm serious. You know that teamwork is essential and I don't think we'll be able to function well if you keep on spitting insults at everyone."

Sai carried an unreadable expression on his face which looked like something between confusion and frustration.

"How am I supposed to know what people want to hear?! I'm not a mind reader, I can't see through the minds of people. What right do they have to get mad at her when I don't even know what I did wrong? I don't even know what emotions feel like! I spent many late nights reading up on emotions in the ton of self-help books that I've been purchasing and I don't understand anything!"He raised his voice in frustration at her.

Taken aback by Sai's sudden outburst, Sakura quickly forced her shock to dissipate from her features as she regained her composure. Was this ever emotionless boy feeling something? It was frustration and anger, but at least it was something.

Sakura felt a smile tug at her lips.

"Sai, you just have to say nice things. Compliment them. Would you like it better if I called you handsome, smart, someone who has great skills or an ugly menace who was horrible at being a ninja?"

A moment passed.

"The former."

"I thought so."

Ruffling a hand through his hair, he furrowed his brows as his lips parted. Then he had pressed his lips into a straight line as quickly as it opened.

But Sakura was a ninja who was trained to be as observant as ever. To scrutinize every little detail so she did not miss anything, and to never let her guard down. And that little skill has saved her lives countless times.

"You want to say something do you, Sai? Don't keep it in. Unless you want that frustration to consume you. What is it?"

Shock flickered his ebony orbs.

"Help me."

It was a very rare occasion to see Sai asking for help as she swallowed the temptation to smirk at him. He was confused, frustrated and angry at no one but himself. It was a vulnerable part of Sai that she had never seen before. And Sai was rarely vulnerable emotionally and it would be easy to take advantage of him and drive him to his knees in front of her, perfect revenge for the perfect archenemy.

She gave herself a mental slap for considering it. Here he was, her teammate practically begging for help in Sai language, and images of him at her disposal flashed through her mind. And she was the one who preached teamwork. How pathetic. How hypocritical.

Sai still looked at her with those eyes. It reminded her of a lost puppy, searching everywhere to find some solace, even the littlest bit of it.

After a silence, what looked like hope in Sai's eyes faded away. Noticing it right away, she smiled at him genuinely.

"Of course."

Sai simply stared at her once again.

"One more thing, Sai. Remember to smile when someone decides to help you."

He gave her one of his fake smiles.

"Shall we try a genuine one this time? I want to see the happiness in your eyes," Sakura smirked.

He lips twitched upwards but she could still see the confusion in his eyes.

A giggle emanated from Sakura.

"It's alright Sai. We'll get to smiling soon." She gave him a reassuring smile.

Sai stared at her.

As Sakura was going to open her mouth to protest, he astonished her.

"Thank you, Sakura. Thank you for willing to help me. I am ever grateful to you."

It was formal, but it would do. She felt herself beam at him.

"You're welcome. Let's go then. No use wasting time here, right, Sai?"

"Alright."

A jolt of pain shot through Sai's shoulder as he tried to stand up and he staggered in his steps.

Sakura ran to his side and pressed a hand to his shoulder, sending flickers of chakra into his body to search for injuries. Turned out that the injury was at the exact place she was currently touching.

"Your shoulder muscles are swollen, Sai."

"You did this to me,"

"When?!"

"You flung me at a tree with your strength, Sakura."

"Oh, that. Sorry. I'll heal that right away. Sit down." Sakura commanded as he obliged.

Placing a hand on his lap to steady him, she sent streams of energy into him to repair the wound that she had inflicted. Apart from some winces and silent cries of pain shown through his eyes, Sai remained stoic and expressionless.

A strangely pleasant ambience filled the air around them. It was a comfortable silence, except from the gentle hum or her chakra.

* * *

Thank you so much for the reviews, and thank you guys for reading. I hope you've enjoyed the chapter. Again, I would love it if you reviewed. Thank you :)


	5. Dreams and The Divine Kingdom

As it always did, the blazing ball of flame hung high in the heavens.

He had always heard tales about the divine kingdom above the clouds as a child, with his mother constantly whispering them in his ear to lull him to sleep when he lay awake brooding in the middle of the night.

Everything was remembered in vivid detail.

The way his mother would urge him to display his affections more and stop isolating all those emotions under a mask as cold and hard as the statues one sees on graves.

The way her soft voice would made him hunger for a normal life, where he would graduate from the academy, grow up with friends there to support him and pull him to his feet if he ever slipped and fell, develop special feelings for someone, bring her home to his parents, having a family, advancing the ranks of a shinobi to serve his home in full glory.

He closed his eyes, taking a moment to purge all of the thoughts that linked him as a normal human from his mind and to shift his focus onto something else.

He averted his gaze up into the skies, which slowly faded into hues of purple, red and orange as the sun began to set.

It looked beautiful and instilled some feeling of serenity within him.

Time had seemed to pause in stillness as he fixated his eyes on the ever-changing colors of the vault of heaven.

Heaven.

A place so wonderful and perfect; where everything was pure and clear. Where acts and thoughts even breaching the fine line of evil and good were unheard of.

Immediately, a vast field of blooming flowers came into mind. He envisioned himself strolling through the meadow, thousands of sweet-smelling scents wafting into his nose, conquering his senses. As the warm rays of the sun caressed his skin, he allowed his eyes to scan across the blossoms as he advanced deeper and deeper into the sea of colors and scents.

It seemed like he had been walking a long time, but it did not feel burdensome whatsoever. Instead, a feeling of rejuvenation was welling up within him, as he fought the strange sensation to smile. Wandering through a beautiful place like this felt so different, it made him want to relax, urging him to let his guard down, to take a moment of peace and indulge in the wonders this beautiful world has to offer.

A strange tree seemed to rise above all the flowers as he advanced slowly across the meadow. As he got closer, he discovered that it was just a cherry blossom tree. The usual ones that bloomed every spring, the ones that he had seen in numerous villages which had the time and climate to cultivate these rich symbols of transience when he took shortcuts to minimize the hassle of traveling so much due to his useless tasks.

Life was beautiful. And also remarkably fragile. A reminder that life is almost overwhelmingly beautiful but also tragically short.

He reached out his hand to touch the tree trunk, but as his hand was merely centimetres from the uneven surface of the bark, the tree would suddenly evaporate into thousands and thousands of sakura flowers, leaving him to stare after them as they fluttered up into the sky.

That was the dream that had always appeared in his mind every time he had managed to slip into sleep. He never slept soundly. A dream was the closest thing he had come to sleeping soundly, resulting in the deep lines under his eyes.

The feeling of a peaceful night's sleep felt so far away, it was so many years ago that he had felt the relief to be swaddled in the warmth of his blankets. That feeling of comfort would have been forgotten if he hadn't tried so hard to relive it in his mind every night.

Unfortunately for him, it was a life of a soldier's that he was living. Things like home, love and all mortal feelings of contentment held no meaning for him whatsoever.

He knew this was his duty. But if he did not hold on to some memories, he was afraid he would be driven to the brink of madness one day, and everything he had struggled to build and achieve would be destroyed.

They would disappear into nothingness, just like how he would one day.

That was inevitable.

And he would make sure that when it was his time to vanish, he would go, knowing that he had fulfilled his duty.

The duty that he had pledged his entire life to.

* * *

Hello, everyone! Haven't had much time with all the homework and assignments in school, not to mention a severe case of writer's block, I apologize. Anyways, Happy Lunar New Year to everyone and their families who's celebrating! Enjoy the mini chapter ^-^


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